The Southeast Saskatchewan Airshed Association (SESAA) has proven itself a valuable resource to the public and the government, and can do so for the oil and gas industry as well, the association's executive director Terry Gibson told representatives
The Southeast Saskatchewan Airshed Association (SESAA) has proven itself a valuable resource to the public and the government, and can do so for the oil and gas industry as well, the association's executive director Terry Gibson told representatives of southeast area oil companies at a seminar on Mar. 17.
Gibson was one of the presenters to the 15th annual Southeast Environmental and Safety Seminar for the area's oil and gas industry, held at McKenna Hall.
He explained what the association is about, how they test the ambient air quality in the southeast, and how the oil industry can benefit from their information.
The airshed association, incorporated in 2005 and the first one in the province, covers about 38,000 square kilometres over 45 municipalities, and operates 28 passive air samplers, plus one high-tech "Airpointer" electronic air monitoring centre located just south of Weyburn on Highway 35.
The data collected from around the southeast shows that for most gases, they are well below the provincial standards of safety. There were some one-hour exceedances of H2S, or hydrogen sulfide, and as a result, the ministry of the Environment will be investigating to find out why, as the source remains a mystery.
"These by law are sent to the ministry of Environment. It has happened often enough they're going to investigate; they're going to do some modelling to try and determine where it's coming from, because it shouldn't be there," said Gibson.
He added while no one wants to see an exceedance, "it's exciting for us, because we can now put this tool into practice."
An environmental expert present at the seminar, Darlene Sakires, pointed out the nearest oil facility to the monitoring station is six miles away.
Meantime, the high-tech device is constantly monitoring for a wide variety of noxious gases, including ozone, carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrous oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter.
The monitoring station can be accessed in real-time on the Internet, and current real-time data can be found by any oil company or any other interested party at any time.
Examples of data collected about some of these other gases were provided, showing the airshed area is quite safe. For SO2, the provincial standard is to be below 11 parts per billion; over the course of a whole year (from November 2009 to October 2010), the levels were mostly at 1.0, with the odd time levels going up to 1.5, 1.6 or 2.1 parts per billion, significantly below the standard of 11.
The standard level of safety for NO2 is 53 parts per billion; again the monitors show this gas is at or below 1.5 parts per billion over the course of a year. For ozone, the safe standard level is at or below 82 parts per billion; monitor levels show it to be at 26, 23 or 22.7 parts per billion.
Addressing oil companies not involved in the airshed association, Gibson said, "Having your name on there (the list of members) is a good thing for you as an oil company, because it shows you're concerned about the environment, the air quality is being recorded, and you're part of the process."
He added there is a balance that he tries to strike through the association. "We have to think about what's good for business, and what's good for the environment. That's why we have fair representation from all sectors. Oil and gas has a say in how the funds are spent. Data is one of the SESAA's most important jobs; without that, we would fall apart."
The association plans to buy and install one more high-tech air monitoring station by this year or 2012, he said, and as part of his public education role, he wants to talk to science classes in both Weyburn and Estevan to explain what the association is all about, and what they are doing in safeguarding the area's air quality.
"We also provide a safe forum for open communication of air quality issues. We need to investigate all sources of pollution," said Gibson.
Other speakers at the one-day seminar spoke on topics including "safety and environmental issues affecting industries in Saskatchewan"; "Meeting the environmental challenges of Saskatchewan oil and gas development"; "Focusing on the task at hand" (worker safety issues); and "The PEP talk" (Positive Energy Program).
